NecPc-9801.jpg

Neo Kobe - NEC PC-9801 (2017-11-17)

Topics: Japanese computers, PC-9801
Item Size: 76.8G

=== Overview ===
By 1982, NEC was already a veteran of the personal computer business, having released three different computer series (the PC-8001, the PC-6001, and the PC-8801) to cater to different types of consumers. This strategy had been spearheaded by the Electronic Devices Business Group within the company, and they were enjoying the fruits of their success.

But there were no such happy times in another NEC division called the Information Processing Business Group. Even though this group had been successfully selling mainframes and minicomputers to large corporations for nearly a decade, all of that was about to change. On the 12th of August, 1981, IBM released the first IBM Personal Computer, the 5150.

NEC knew exactly what the 5150 represented. They recognized that the future of business computing would be personal: an entire computer for each worker. They also recognized that unless they delivered a personal computing solution of their own, Japanese businesses would turn to Big Blue.

So the Information Processing Business Group got to work, and in just over a year they unveiled their answer: the PC-9801, a 16-bit computer powered by NEC's in-house version of the Intel 8086 processor. Besides having special hardware to handle the complexities of Japanese text, the PC-9801 boasted several improvements over the IBM 5150, such as a true 16-bit data bus, and graphics output at a resolution of 640x400 with 8 fixed colors, significantly better than the IBM PC's CGA standard. The Big Blue threat was averted, and within a few short years, the PC-9801 became the standard business computer in Japan.

Whereas NEC's earlier computers were aimed at electronics tinkerers, young students, and even families, the PC-9801 was all business. It was boring. But it got the job done, and that meant the PC-9801 worked its way into not only every white-collar office in Japan, but also onto factory floors and into science labs. Even NEC's own PC-100, a fascinating and forward-thinking machine designed by the Electronic Devices Business Group, was cast aside in the wake of the PC-9801's success.

For the PC-9801, games were only an afterthought. But businessmen tend to take their work home with them, and over time, the PC-9801 gradually became a fixture in many households. The PC-9801 received a steady drip of games right from the beginning, but most of these early titles were straight ports from 8-bit computers.

The PC-9801 took its first big step forward as a game platform with the release of the PC-9801VF/VM models in late 1985. The CPU was upgraded to NEC's V30 chip running at 10MHz. A new graphics board allowed for 640x400 with 16 colors out of a palette of 4096, once again edging out IBM's then-current EGA standard, which only offered 640x350 with 16 colors from a palette of 64. Additionally, an optional sound board provided FM synthesis with Yamaha's YM2203 (OPN) chip, as well as joystick ports.

In this way, NEC kept the platform relevant by releasing as many as a dozen new models every year, ranging from desktops and laptops to hi-res CAD machines and factory control computers.

But even with these improvements, the PC-9801 didn't shake its original shirt-and-tie identity and come into its own as an entertainment machine until after the release of the last PC-8801 model at the end of 1989. One of the biggest upgrades occurred at the end of 1992, when NEC released the first of a new multimedia-focused series called the PC-9821. This new lineup featured a built-in CD-ROM drive, an upgraded FM synthesis chip, and a new graphics subsystem capable of 640x480 with 256 colors, although most games continued to stick with the already-established 640x400 with 16 colors.

When compared against its contemporary 16-bit rivals from Sharp and Fujitsu, the NEC PC-9801 was no match for the audiovisual capabilities of the X68000 and the FM Towns, but what it did have was a giant userbase and a relentless march of incrementally better models. The PC-9801 game library exploded in the early 1990s, and even after Windows 95 ultimately united the computing world, the PC-9800 series remained a major force in the Japanese computer market until the end of the millenium.

=== Running software ===
The PC-9801 included NEC's version of BASIC on floppy disks and an internal ROM chip, but the primary operating systems were localized versions of Microsoft MS-DOS and Windows. All of the basic DOS commands are the same, and anyone who is familiar with a 1990s-era IBM PC-compatible computer will quickly feel at home on the PC-9801.

However, there is one key difference to keep in mind: drive letters are assigned according to the boot device. If you boot from a floppy disk, the floppy drives become drives A: and B:, while the hard disk drive becomes C:. Conversely, if you boot from the hard disk, the hard disk becomes A:, while the floppy drives become B: and C:.

Most games can be fully controlled with a two-button mouse or joystick.
On the keyboard, movement is almost always numpad 4,6,2,8 or the cursor keys. The buttons are usually some combination of Enter, Spacebar, Shift, Esc, Tab, and ZXCV.

Addeddate: 2017-11-18 03:06:22
Identifier: NeoKobe-NecPc-98012017-11-17